Who Invented the Paper Clip?

Who invented the paper clip? There are many different potential answers to this question, but in its absolute simplest form, the first patent that was invented for the invention of a primative paper clip went to Samuel B. Fay in 1867. Of course, this wasn't originally intended as a paper clip - it was meant to attach paper to fabric. Still, it was the first example of a wire clip of its type and Fay can thus be considered the man who invented the paper clip.

The first patent ever issued for a wire device designed to attach one material to another was awarded to Samuel B. Fay in the year 1867. Since then, over 60 subsequent patents have been awarded for products similar to the original design which was created by Fay himself.  Johan Vaaler, for example, also worked on the design of the paper clip and patented a similar device used to attach papers together in the year 1899.

Changes to the Paper Clip

Through the course of time, the design of the paper clip began to take on other forms. The paper clip took on different sizes, and even different shapes as more beneficial versions were discovered through the process of trial-and-error.

One of the biggest changes came when a machine that was designed for the manufacturing of wire paper clips was patented in 1899 to William Middlebrook. This machine revolutionized the rate at which wire paper clips could be produced. This innovation led to many others, including the coated paper clip, which comes coated in different colored plastics for the ease of color-coding different document types.